Live to Tell
by eiahmon
Summary: Giftfic for Lita of the Dancing Flames. After Xehanort's defeat, Lea holds vigil over Isa.


**Not mine, don't own, but I wish I had Axel and Saïx plushies to snuggle with.**

If need be, he decided, he would wait forever.

Lea rubbed at his stinging eyes and tried to ignore the ache in his arms and shoulders from swinging a keyblade around for hours upon hours. He had a few minor wounds that burned for medical attention, but he ignored them in favor of watching Isa sleep.

Sleep, he told himself, he's just sleeping. Once he's rested up a little, he'll wake up and be fine. He has to be. Nothing had ever knocked Isa down for long, not even losing his heart. So yeah, he was certain that once he was rested up, Isa would be _fine_.

He ignored the whisper in the back of his mind that reminded him that separating Xehanort's heart away from Isa's had done horrendous damage. It had taken Master Yen Sid, King Mickey, and Master Aqua hours to peel away the parasitic leech that Xehanort had become, while Isa's body had fought and struggled against them.

"Lea," Isa's mouth had said. "Don't let them do this to me, Lea. I'm fine really." But Lea had known better. It wasn't really Isa talking. It was Isa's mouth forming the words and Isa's voice making the sounds, but it wasn't Isa _speaking_. The flat tone, with no warmth or inflection belonged purely to Xehanort, as the old man struggled to retain control of his only remaining vessel. They'd destroyed ten of the others, pried him away from Terra's heart, and booted Young Xehanort back to his own time, which left the old man with only Isa. Prying him away from Terra had been much easier and quicker, as Terra himself had fought to regain control, and Master Eraqus had aided him from within.

Isa... Isa did not fight back, did not try to regain control, and Master Yen Sid warned them all that Isa's heart may have been consumed during the possession. At first there had been plans to destroy Isa completely and allow whatever was left of him to move onto the afterlife in peace, but Lea had strenuously objected.

"He's in there." he had said firmly. "I caught glimpses of my best friend off and on, so I know that he's in there, somewhere."

Eventually, Masters Yen Sid, Mickey, and Aqua had at least agreed to try, but it had taken ten long grueling hours to break the possession and tear the fragment of Xehanort's heart free. Once the fragment, black with darkness, dripping with malice and hate, and snarling with rage and denial, had been destroyed, Lea had carefully scooped Isa's limp body into his arms and prepared to leave the Mysterious Tower.

"Where are you taking him?" Sora had asked.

Lea had replied: "I'm taking him home."

He'd taken Isa to Radiant Garden, to the house that he had grown up in. Isa's parents had survived the world's destruction (Lea's hadn't.) but they had moved into a different part of the town, and the abandoned structure was badly in need of repair. Lea had paused only long enough to make sure that it wouldn't fall down on top of them and make Isa's bedroom useable before lying his best friend down to rest. He then sat down in a dust covered chair by the bed to wait.

Over the coming days, he moved from the chair only to take care of Isa or himself. He ignored Sora's attempts to coax him out of the house, ignored Even's insistence that Isa's heart was so shattered that it wouldn't heal. Ventus' heart had been sheared clean in two, yet it had healed. If Ventus could heal from such damage, then so could Isa. He ignored the whisper in his heart that reminded him that Ventus' heart had been supported by Sora's while it healed, and even then it had taken him years to wake. Isa had no such support.

He ignored the members of the Restoration Committee as they fixed up the house around them and brought them simple meals, he paid no attention to the others' attempts to get him to come out of the bedroom, and he especially ignored those that insisted that Isa was only suffering, enduring a living death and should be humanely put out of his misery.

"Lea," Ienzo had said in the softest tone that Lea had ever heard him use. "there is no hope."

"As long as he breathes," Lea said just as softly. "then there is hope."

"His heart is gone, Lea, and this time there is no chance of it returning to him. For his sake, let him go, so his soul can go on to whatever afterlife awaits him."

"You don't know that his heart is gone, Ienzo." Lea growled as the first hint of moisture appeared in his eyes.

"I can see hearts, Lea, and I see none within him. There is no hope."

Lea swiped his leaking eyes with the back of his hand. "Get out, Ienzo."

"Lea -"

"I said get out!" Lea snarled as the air temperature in the room jumped and the smell of smoke filled the air "Before you die for real this time!"

Ienzo blanched and quickly ran from the room, while Lea settled back into his chair to continue his vigil.

"Don't worry, Isa." he said quietly "I won't let anyone hurt you."

_Lea?_

Aerith appeared hours later with dinner for them; a ham and cheese sandwich with chips for Lea, and a thin, watery soup for Isa, and she gave him a sad smile and patted his shoulder before leaving. Lea ignored her; he was too focused on sitting Isa up and feeding him the soup, spoonful by careful spoonful.

The next day, Even came by, and Lea tensed angrily, waiting for more insistence that he end Isa's life, but the scientist's words surprised him.

"Well," he said with a huff. "Let's get him to the castle."

"Castle?" Lea asked suspiciously "Why?"

"So I can put a gastric feeding tube in his stomach, idiot, before you give him aspiration pneumonia or, heavens forbid, choke him."

Lea gave him a strange look. "Are you certain that's all you intend to do?"

Even sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Lea, now let's go. If you insist on keeping him alive, he'll need much more than spoonfuls of soup. It's not a balanced diet, and he'll sufferer a nutritional deficiency if it's not rectified."

"Fine, but if you hurt him..." The smell of smoke filled the room again, and Even flinched and took a step backwards before he relaxed.

"I'm not going to hurt him, Lea," he said gently. "but he needs more than you can give him alone if he's going to continue like this."

So they had gone to the castle infirmary, and the visit ended with Isa lying still and quiet as ever in a hospital bed while the anesthesia wore off. An short, ugly plastic tube protruded from his stomach, and Even patiently explained to Lea how to use and maintain it. The scientist then figured out Isa's nutritional needs, which were minimal since all he did was lie still without moving or speaking. Lea was also warned to watch the tube closely while the insertion site around it healed to make sure it did not move or come loose. Leakage around the tube into the abdominal area could lead to serious infection and even death if it happened. A line was marked at the skin line on the tube for reference, and Lea was told to bring Isa to the castle immediately if that line moved at all.

The two of them then carefully sat Isa up, flushed the tube with water, and then gave him his first tube feeding, a thin formula that was bright pink in color but which Even assured him had everything Isa needed. The feeding was slow since the tube was narrow, but after an hour the last of the formula had trickled into Isa's stomach, and they flushed the tube out a second time to prevent clogging. Isa was left sitting up for another hour, and then he was laid back down. He needed to stay in the infirmary for another day in case complications appeared, but if he cleared that hurdle then Lea could take him home.

"In the meantime," Even said. "Let's get you taken care of."

Lea was taken aback. "Me?"

"Yes, you. I know for a fact that you haven't sought any medical attention for your injuries from that last battle, so sit down on a bed so I can check you over."

"I'm fine, Even."

"No, you are not, and if you do not let me check you over, I will have you declared an unfit guardian for Isa and remove him from you care."

Lea snarled. "You're a bastard!"

"And you're a moron, so now that we've established that, sit down. You cannot take care of Isa without taking care of yourself."

Growling, Lea sat down on the bed aside Isa's and allowed the scientist to check him over.

"You're lucky," Even said. "You're not seriously hurt."

"I could have told you that!" Lea snapped as the blond man prodded a particularly sore spot on his back.

"You are however, in danger of getting an infection from all these unhealed, open lacerations, some of which are quite deep."

"Well then do something about it instead of just talking."

"Still as ungrateful as ever, I see."

"Damn it, Even -!" Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a surprised yelp, as Even began to suture his wounds closed.

"Lea," Even said evenly as he tugged on one stitch. "Shut up."

"Yessir," Lea said as he went still. He didn't want to anger the man that had a large curved needle at his back. He was many things, but despite what many people believed, stupid wasn't one of them.

**OOOOOO**

They spent the night in the infirmary, and not once did Isa move. Lea had hoped that the residual pain from surgery would bring him out of his coma, but no such thing happened. Even did supply a high backed wheelchair for moving him around in -

"So you don't destroy your back carrying him."

- and Lea carefully buckled Isa in and wheeled him home.

He received a surprise as they approached the house. He knew that the restoration committee had been fixing the place up, but they must have descended upon it in droves while they were at the castle, because the place looked like it had just been built. A wheelchair ramp had been installed, and a new front door wide enough to accommodate Isa's chair had also been added, so he wheeled him inside and got another surprise.

The interior was sparkling. Sunlight shone through spotless windows and gleamed off new wooden floors. New appliances were lined up in the kitchen, ready for use, and a special tub for bathing a disabled person was in the bathroom. Isa's room had deep plush carpeting, with a hospital bed by the window. Next to it was another bed for Lea's use obviously. Apparently they had noticed that he refused to leave Isa's side.

Lea couldn't keep the smile from his face as he lifted Isa out of his chair and laid him down in bed. He certainly did have some great friends. He elevated the head of Isa's bed and fed him, all the while thinking of the ones that had done so much to help him and Isa.

"We have some good friends, Isa." he said quietly. "Really good friends."

**OOOOOO**

Time moved on. Days passed, then weeks, then months. Not once did Isa show any sign of recovery. He never stirred, never made a sign, never showed any sign that his heart was returning to him. Even, who had more or less slipped into the role of Isa's primary care physician checked on him at least once a week, and had him brought to the castle for a full physical once a month, checked the status of his heart every time he visited, and every time he said that there was no improvement.

Lea tried everything. He took Isa on long walks around town, took him to shows, read him books (Even though he hated to read, Isa had loved it.) and had long, one sided conversations with him. Nothing seemed to work.

Winter soon arrived, and though it was relatively mild like all of Radiant Garden's winters, it was enough to bring Isa down hard with a fever and a cough. Due to his condition, Even hospitalized him to better monitor him, and Lea slept on a cot beside him. Isa was unable to tell them if he was distressed or having trouble breathing, so Lea had to use his eyes and ears to check. Even was concerned about the cough moving down into his lungs and loaded him down with antibiotics to try and prevent it.

Isa coughed and gasped through the night as Lea watched him, and a tiny part of him wondered if maybe, just maybe, he should have put him out of his misery months ago. At one point during the night, he climbed into bed beside Isa and held his feverish body close, wondering. Had he done the right thing? Should he have ended it then, and allowed Isa to go on?

"Did I do right by you, Isa?" he asked quietly. "Should I have let you go?" He closed his eyes then, not expecting a response, but then...

...Isa shifted in bed every so slightly. Lea opened his eyes, figuring that his own weight had caused the shift, but as he watched Isa's head moved. His eyes widened as he watched Isa's head slowly inch over to him and tuck itself under his chin. He stared for a moment, scarcely daring to breath, and then he began to shout for Even.

He came running in in his pajamas. "What? What is it?"

"Even, he moved!"

Even stared at him like he was out of his mind. "What? What are you blathering on about now?"

"He moved! He tucked his head under my chin, see?"

Even stepped closer and looked for a moment, and then he signed and straightened up. "Lea, his head simply lolled to the side due to the depression in the pillow that you caused. There is no change in his heart."

"But I watched him move! He didn't just loll to the side, he moved it!"

"He is comatose, Lea." Even said gently "He is incapable of independent movement."

"I saw him do it, Even."

"You saw what you wanted to see, Lea. He cannot move on his own. Now go back to sleep."

Even walked out of the room then, and Lea held Isa close to him and closed his eyes as hot tears scalded his eyes and slipped down his cheeks.

_Lea..._

Isa was in the infirmary for three more days, three days that Lea watched him anxiously for any sign that he was awakening, and three days that he was disappointed. Isa didn't move again, so by the time he took him home, his heart was heavy. He put Isa to bed like usual, settled down in the chair beside him, and cried.

**OOOOOO**

More time passed, and soon it was a year since the battle, a year since they had inflicted horrendous damage on Isa's heart tearing Xehanort away. Isa had not moved since that night in the castle infirmary, and Lea had begun to believe that Even was right. He had seen what he had wanted to see.

It was late spring, and he still wheeled Isa around town when the weather was decent, but now he had to contend with the pitying looks sent his way, as well as the whispers.

"... poor thing..."

"... will never wake up..."

"... so selfish of him..."

"... needs to let him go..."

Lea forced himself to grit his teeth and not flame them to a crisp where they stood. "Ignore them, Isa." he said under his breath. "They don't know you like I do. They don't know what they are talking about."

He took Isa home, fed him his supper, bathed him, dressed him in his pajamas, and tucked him into bed.

"I believe that you're in there still, Isa." he whispered. "Please wake up."

There was no response.

**OOOOOO**

Months rolled by, and as they approached the second anniversary of the battle, Lea found himself becoming despondent. Isa was still showing no signs of awakening, and Even insisted that his heart had not shown any signs of returning to him. As much as it pained him to admit it, it looked as though the others were right, and Isa was never going to wake up.

He still cared for Isa, but he stopped caring for himself and the house. Dirty dishes piled up in the sink, and then spilled over onto the counter. Trash covered the floors in places, and dirty clothes lay scattered about because he could not muster the energy to wash them. His hair was greasy and tangled, his clothes were grimy, and he himself smelled like someone that had rolled around in something dead.

"This needs to stop, Lea." Even said during one of his visits. "Isa cannot live in these conditions, and neither can you."

"Go away, Even." Lea said quietly from his usual chair beside Isa's bed. "Just leave."

"You're going to lose custody of Isa at this rate if you do not stop this."

Fear wrapped around Lea's heart, though he didn't show it as he turned his head to look at Even. "Lose it to who?"

"His parents." Even sat down nearby. "They've been talking about getting him away from you for months now, Lea, because they believe he should be allowed to die, but I've managed to hold them back because you were taking such good care of him. No one knows the conditions in this house now, but if it continues to the point it jeopardizes Isa's health, then I will have to report it, and they will use it to take him from you."

"They're not taking him from me."

"They won't be taking him from you. You'll be giving him up, by showing that you no longer care."

"I do care!"

Even stood up and glared down at him. "Then show it. Go take a shower. Take care of yourself, and take care of the house. By doing that you'll be showing that you care about Isa."

Even showed himself out then, and Lea sighed in defeat and went to take a shower.

"They're not going to take him from me." he muttered as he washed his hair, but once he was out, he surveyed the house and decided that he really didn't have the energy to do any cleaning. Instead he went to bed. The house could wait until the morning.

**OOOOOO**

He didn't clean the house. It seemed to take too much energy. Oh, he straightened up a little here and there and washed Isa's clothes, but that was all. He ignored the flies buzzing around in the kitchen, or the smell coming from the rotting garbage. He would take it out later, after he fed Isa his breakfast and turned him onto his side to prevent bedsores. Once that was taken care of, he did force himself to take some of the trash out, to get rid of the flies at least, but by then he was tired and ready for a nap. He crawled into bed beside Isa and went to sleep and dreamed.

**OOOOOO**

_There was bright light, but it was not the harsh glare of The Castle That Never Was. Rather it was the warm light of a winter fire, of candles during a dark night, of the sunset on a beautiful day. It was all that he could see. _

"_Lea!"_

_He didn't feel or see himself move, but somehow he knew that he had spun around in place, and he saw a very familiar figure moving towards him._

"_Isa?"_

_Isa, looking like he had when they were around the age of ten, grinned and ran up to him. He threw his arms around Lea's waist and grinned up at him again. _

"_Isa," Lea whispered as knelt down in front of his pint sized best friend and wrapped his arms around him. "I've missed you."_

_Isa giggled; it was a sound that Lea hadn't heard in over 20 years. "But how could you miss me? I've been with you this whole time."_

_Lea smiled. "You have been with me, but you've been sleeping. You've been sleeping for two long_ _years."_

_Isa's green eyes got impossibly wide. "Two years! That's so long!"_

_It was wonderful to speak to Isa again, even if it was just a dream. "Yes, it has been, and I've missed you so much."_

"_Why don't you just wake me up?"_

_Lea gave him a sad smile. "Do you remember what happened to you?"_

_Isa gave him a slow, hesitant head shake. "No?"_

"_You got hurt." Lea said as he looked him in the eye. "Including your heart, and you've been sleeping while it heals."_

"_B, but, if I'm sleeping, how can I eat? Or take a bath?"_

"_I've been taking care of you while you sleep."_

"_Oh, okay, 'cause you're my best friend, right Lea?"_

_Lea felt his heart melt; it was impossible not to love little Isa. "Of course, I am, but I need you to wake up soon."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because there are people that believe that believe that you're never going to wake up, so you need to wake up -"_ Before they kill you. _"- to prove them wrong."_

_Isa looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. "You'll protect me right, Lea?"_

_Had he heard Lea's thoughts? "That's right." He drew him back into a hug. "You'll always be safe with me. I love you."_

_There was a loud banging, and Lea looked up and frowned. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. When he looked back at Isa, the child was gone._

_He stood up and looked around, but all he could see was the light. "Isa? Isa, where are you?"_

_There was no answer, and the banging started up again, and then it came a third time, and..._

**OOOOOO**

He sat up in bed at the sound of someone banging on the front door. He blearily blinked his eyes open and looked at the bedside clock and was horrified when he realized it was nearly six in the afternoon. He had missed Isa's lunch and suppertime feedings. He scrambled out of bed to take care of that, but another banging on the door interrupted him.

"Damn it, Even, what do you want now." he grumbled as he walked towards the door to answer it. He would shoo Even away and then go get Isa fed and bathed.

He yanked the door open, "What do you want …. !" and trailed off when he saw that it wasn't Even standing on the porch. Instead it was multiple members of the city guard, including Dilan and Aeleus, accompanied by Isa's parents.

"What is it?" he asked as he felt his heart sink. He already knew what they were there for.

One of them held up an official looking piece of paper. "Lea Rosso?"

Lea nodded hesitantly "Yes?"

"This is an official notice, dated today, that we are here to remove the invalid known as Isa Qamar from the home. You have been declared unfit to care for him."

"You're not taking him from me." he said. "I won't let you." He tried to shut the door, but it was pushed open by the one holding the paper.

"You have no say in it. Please stand back so we can retrieve him." They pushed him aside and began to file into the house.

"No, I won't let you have him!" He advanced on the two that were moving towards the bedroom, but a large pair of hands clamped down on his arms and held him back.

"Don't do anything foolish, Lea." Aeleus's voice spoke into his ear. "You had your chance, and you lost it. This is no one's fault but you're own."

Lea struggled against the grip. "They're going to kill him!" he screamed as Isa's parents walked inside. "They're going to kill him, can't you understand that!" Tears burned in his eyes as one of the guardsman came out of the bedroom, carrying Isa in his arms. "Let me go, Aeleus! I won't let them take him!"

"He's in pretty good shape." the one carrying Isa said quietly to his partner. "but it doesn't look like he's been fed all day."

"I fell asleep!" Lea protested. "I was getting ready to feed him when you showed up!"

"And how many other feedings have you slept through, Lea?" Isa's father demanded. "Look at this house. I know the Restoration Committee fixed it up for you, but just look at it! It's a pig sty! I can't believe that you would do this to Isa after being friends for so long!"

"I haven't done anything but try to give him a chance!"

"A chance to do what! Wither away in a living death! There is no hope, Lea! You've been told this, and his mother and I are going to give him the release he deserves!"

"You can't have him!" He pulled hard against Aeleus' grip and got nowhere. "Don't take him from me!"

"You've no right to him!" Isa's mother snapped. "All you did was keep him alive to satisfy your own selfish desire to keep him! You didn't do it for him! You did it for you!"

"No!" Lea screamed in denial as Isa was carried out of the house. "He's there! He's still there! Don't do this to him! Don't kill him!"

"It's a done deal, Lea." Dilan said heavily. "It's best to just let it go."

"NO! I won't! I won't let him go! Don't take him away!"

Isa's parents followed their son out of the house that he had grown up in, and the rest of the city guard, save Dilan and Aeleus, followed.

"Isa!" Lea wailed. "Wake up! Show them that you're still there! Isaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"It's too late, Lea." Aeleus said. "Now I'm going to hold onto you long enough for them to get Isa safely home -"  
"Safe! SAFE! You call being taken off to be put down like a dog safe!"

"- and then I'm going to let you go, but you have to swear not to do anything stupid, or you'll spend the next week in the castle dungeon."

"Let go of me!" The smell of smoke filled the room, but suddenly there was a hand on his neck, choking him. No, not choking him, simply pinching shut his carotid arteries to knock him uncooonnnnn...

**OOOOOO**

Lea blinked his eyes open to see a close up of the couch in the living room. How had he gotten to the couch? He groaned as he sat up, and his arms throbbed. He was certain that there were bruises from Aeleus' grip on them.

The house was dark and silent, but as he looked around the living room, he realized that he was not alone.

Even was seated in a nearby chair, watching him.

"I warned you Lea." he said quietly.

"You also said that you hadn't reported anything." Lea growled as he raked his hair back from his face.

"I didn't. People have eyes, Lea, and this house has windows. It wasn't hard for Isa's parents to see the conditions you were keeping him in, and once they had proof, it wasn't hard to get your custody revoked."

"They're going to kill him."

"They are. Tomorrow, I'm going to their house to remove his feeding tube. I will then put him on medications to manage any pain that he feels as he dies of dehydration."

"How long will that take?"

"Anywhere from three to seven days."

"So that's it?" Lea gestured vaguely with his right hand before letting it fall to his lap. "You're just going to pull his feeding tube and watch him die."

"I have no other choice. It is out of my hands."

"He's still there, Even."

Even sighed and looked down at the floor. "No, he's not. You need to face that fact, Lea. This isn't a case of a heart lost to the Heartless. This isn't a case of a heart that's been severely damaged. This is a case of a heart that's been utterly destroyed. There is nothing left to heal. There is no heart that can be recovered."

"He can grown a new one. We started to do that, remember!"

"_Nobodies_ can grow a new heart. _Somebodies_ cannot."

"You don't know that, Even!"

Even stood up. "You need to let it go, Lea. There is no hope for Isa. It's time to let him go on to whatever afterlife awaits him."

"What if there is no afterlife!" Lea felt tears burning in his eyes again, but he wiped them away. "What if there is nothing after death!"

Even stood up and walked over to kneel down in front of him as he bowed his head and gave into the tears. "I do believe that there is an afterlife, Lea." the scientist said in a quiet voice. "I cannot believe that the soul simply ceases to exist once the body passes on, even if I cannot see it. I do believe that there is life after death." He moved to sit on the couch beside him and pulled him close.

After the loss of their hearts, Vexen had looked after Axel and Saïx just as he looked after Zexion, perhaps even more so. Zexion had been young, but he had had an inkling of what they were getting into. Axel and Saïx had been just two fourteen year old boys that had literally had their world destroyed around them. It was the memories of those first few years that now caused Lea to lean into the embrace and allow Even to hold him as he cried.

"Isa is very lucky to have a friend such as you." Even murmured to him "Most people would not have cared for someone in such a state and would have left them in a home or in the care of nurses." Lea was crying so hard that he couldn't answer, so Even kept speaking. "You did the best that you could for him. Now it's time to step back and let him go."

"I can't." Lea managed to croak.

"You have to, or you'll destroy yourself. Now stand up." Even stood up and pulled Lea up with him. "You're coming with me."

"What?" Lea looked at him in confusion. "Where? Why?"

"Back to the castle. You're severely depressed, something that I should have noticed before, and I'm not leaving you alone in this state."

Lea closed his eyes as he felt Even's arms hold him tight, and then the darkness of a portal enveloped them.

_Lea, what's happening? Why are you sad?_

**OOOOOO**

Lea sat silently on his bed in the castle infirmary. The room was empty save himself, and he was in no mood to make any noise.

It had been three days since Isa had been taken from him, and he barely moved from his bed unless Even prodded him into it. Not even visits from Sora, Riku, and Kairi could get anything from him. He sat there, staring at his lap, until he was startled by his keyblade appearing in his hand in a flash of flame.

Master Yen Sid had named it Proud Flame, and he had once been so thrilled to have it. Now, he simply didn't care. After all of his training, all of his work and struggle, it hadn't been enough. It hadn't been enough to save Isa.

"Why are you here?" he asked it in a low voice. "Why do you come to me now?"

"Because it knows that your heart is hurting." came a voice from behind him, and a moment later, King Mickey appeared in front of him. "Our keyblades know when they're needed."

"What does it hope to do? It wasn't able to save Isa."

The King gave him a sad, knowing smile. "Maybe it just wants you to know that you're not alone."

"Well, it's not helping."

A portal opened in the room then, and Even stepped out.

"How is Isa?" Lea asked in a flat voice as the portal closed.

"Weakening." the scientist answered. "I imagine that he only has two days at most."

"Have you been to see him?" Mickey asked Lea.

Lea shook his head. "No, they won't let me see him. They say that I might take him and run."

"Maybe you should go anyway, at least so you can say goodbye."

"I tried. I got thrown out by the city guard, who are protecting the house."

"That's not right. You should at least be able to say goodbye to him." Mickey looked over at Even. "Can you arrange a visit?"

Even sighed. "I can try, but I can't promise anything."

"Please try. I think it will do Lea some good."

"Alright," Even portaled out, and Lea raised his head to meet Mickey's eyes.

"Do you really think that he'll convince them?" he asked, trying to keep that surge of desperate hope out of his voice.

"Gee, I don't know, Lea, but, if he can't..." Mickey gave him a wink and a smile. "No lock can stop a keyblade." Lea managed a weak smile in return, and the two sat in silence until Even returned.

"His parents agreed to let you visit," he said. "if Mickey and I are with you the entire time, to prevent you from taking him. If that's acceptable to you, we can go now."

Lea looked at Mickey, who gave him an encouraging smile, and nodded faintly.

"Well, let's go." Mickey said, and Lea heaved a sigh and stood up. A second later, he felt Even's hand on his shoulder, and a portal opened around them.

The appeared in the living room of a small, sparsely furnished house, where they found Isa's parents waiting on them. Lea raised his eyes to look at them, and he saw none of the anger that had been so clear two days before.

"Take as long as you need, Lea." Isa's mother said softly "He's through there." She pointed to an open door that led into a bedroom. Lea looked through the doorway and saw part of a hospital bed, and a pair of feet under a blanket. He swallowed heavily, hesitated for a moment, and walked in.

How does on prepare themselves for a shock, he wondered. He was well aware the effects that dehydration had on a person, but seeing Isa was still a horrible shock. His best friend was lying as still and as silent as ever on a hospital bed in the middle of the brightly lit room. Sunlight from the large windows lay across his face, and for one crazy moment, Lea worried about him getting a sunburn. He cast his eyes down to where the feeding tube used to be, but of course, it wasn't there anymore. Isa's eyes and cheeks were beginning to sink in from no water and his skin was dry and had a papery texture. Lea reached out and gently touched one side of his face, and he felt hot to the touch, like he had a fever.

"Isa?" he called softly. "Are you there?"

There was no response, and Lea felt tears rising in his eyes. He angrily wiped them away and carefully sat down on the bed. He ran his hand through Isa's hair, down his cheek, and down to his chest, where it stopped over where his heart should have been.

"There's really nothing there, is there?" he asked no one in particular.

"No," Mickey said sadly. "There's not. I'm sorry, Lea. You tried your best."

"May I .. may I hold him?"

He heard clothing rustling by the door, and after a moment, Even spoke. "You may. Go sit in the chair there." Lea looked up to see Even gesturing towards an old rocking chair that brought back a rush of memories. The chair had been in Isa's bedroom as far as he could remember, and Isa had once explained that he had been a very fussy baby, so rocking him had been the only way his mother could quiet him. The chair had not been in the room when they returned to Radiant Garden, and Lea had assumed that it had been destroyed, but there it was.

Lea carefully stood up from the bed and moved over to the chair. Once he was seated, Even carefully scooped Isa up and carried him over. He paused then.

"Promise me that you're not going to portal out of here with him, Lea, and I will hand him to you." he said.

Lea looked down at his lap and nodded. Everyone was right; it was time to let go.

Even stepped closer, leaned over, and gently placed Isa in Lea's arms, with his head resting against Lea's shoulder. He then stepped back, but neither he nor Mickey left the room.

Lea spent of moment settling Isa into his arms, and he looked into his sleeping face. "Hello, Isa." he said quietly. "I guess this is it, eh? After everything," His voice hitched and more tears pooled in his eyes. "After everything we did, this is how it ends." His voice broke as the tears ran down his face. "I had always thought that we'd end up a pair of old men sitting on a porch and irritating the neighborhood kids, you know. Even after we lost everything, I kept that thought in my mind and hoped that one day we'd reach it. Even when we stopped being friends – thanks to that bastard Xehanort – I hoped that you'd be able to come back to me once he was dead. I guess that's not going to happen now." He held Isa closer and buried his face in his hair as he began to cry. "I'm sorry. Nothing I did was enough. I never noticed what Xehanort had done to you. I wasn't able to stop him from taking you. I wasn't able to protect you like you used to protect me. I couldn't get him away from you without hurting you. I'm sorry, Isa, I'm so sorry. I love you, and I never wanted to see you hurt. I just wanted to give you a chance to get better. I never meant to make you suffer. Please believe me. I love you." He squeezed his eyes shut then and gave into his grief. He rocked Isa in his arms and cried.

_Lea!_

Lea sat up and gasped as pain flared in his chest, and he looked down to see golden light emanating from his heart.

"Isa..."

He heard Mickey and Even gasp, but he ignored them as light continued to shine.

_Lea! I'm here, Lea!_

"Isa? Isa!" He placed his hand over his heart, and a rush of joy and hope washed over him. "This is why...?" Lea reeled as it clicked into place. "You HAVE been with me the entire time!'

Mickey and Even stepped over to him. "How did we miss that?" Even asked before he stepped back. "I'll be back soon." he said and portaled out.

Lea kept his hand over his heart as more tears, tears of relief, trickled down his face. He heard Mickey speaking to Isa's parents, explaining what was happening, but he ignored them as Isa's voice rang in his mind.

_Can you hear me, Lea?_

"I hear you, Isa." He smiled through his tears. "I hear you, and I'm so glad to hear your voice."

"His heart must have taken refuge within yours after we tore Xehanort away." Mickey said "So you could support him while he healed."

Lea managed a watery laugh. "He's not gone, see? I told you he wasn't gone!" He held Isa close. "I knew you were there."

Even portaled back into the room then, carrying supplies needed for an I.V. drip. "Now let's get him rehydrated, shall we?"

Lea laughed again and nodded, so Even carefully inserted a catheter into the back of Isa's left hand and hooked it up to a bag of saline.

"He's going to be alright?" Isa's mother asked hopefully, and Even turned to her and nodded.

"Yes," he explained "When a heart is severely damaged, normally it would collapse in on itself and be destroyed, but at some point, Isa's heart evidently sought out Lea's as a means of support while it slowly healed itself. I am assuming that it was so severely damaged that Isa couldn't call out and tell Lea that he was there, but now he can. We need to get him rehydrated and get him back on his feeding tube, so when his heart has healed enough, it will be able to return."

"It will return, right?" his father asked. "You are certain of this?"

Even smiled at them. "Absolutely certain. We don't know when, because we don't know how much damage is left to heal, but he will return in time."

Isa's mother turned to her husband and began to cry, and Lea lightly rocked Isa in his arms and smiled at him, but that smile was wiped from his face when Even carefully picked him up and laid him back down in bed. "Hey!"

Even patted the bed beside Isa. "Come lie down with him, Lea. We need you to do something."

"What?" he asked as he stood up from the chair and moved towards the bed.

Mickey understood. "Remember when you had your Dive to the Heart before you got your keyblade?"

"I remember." Lea replied as he laid down beside Isa and pulled him close.

"We need you to go there again." Mickey added "You'll be able to speak to Isa there and see what kind of state his heart is in. Close your eyes, start your meditation, and reach for you heart."

Lea nodded in understanding and closed his eyes. He relaxed and slowed his breathing and reached down into himself, searching for the pathway that led to his heart. He then felt him falling, drifting, drifting down...

_He slowly drifted down and landed on the stained glass platform that was the metaphysical representation of his heart. It looked the same as it had during his dive: himself on one side in a relaxed pose, keyblade in hand, with his eyes closed, and small portraits of Roxas, Isa, Sora, Riku, and a small black haired girl that he couldn't recall ever meeting before. He wondered for a moment who it could be, but the sight of a familiar blue haired figure standing in the center of the platform made him turn his thoughts to more important matters. _

_Isa smiled when he touched down, looking like he did during the dream that he had had a few days_ _before._

"_But it wasn't a dream, was it?" Lea asked as he walked up to Isa, who simply smiled and shook his head. Lea knelt down and opened his arms. "C'mere you."_

_Isa grinned a wide, toothy grin and ran into his arms. "I love you, Lea."_

"_I love you too, Isa, more than words can say. I'm so glad that you called out to me."_

"_I tried before, but I don't think you heard me."_

"_You said that you didn't remember before what had happened to you. Has that changed?"_

"_I remember some of it."_

"_Can you tell me how much longer you'll have to stay in my heart?"_

_Isa looked down at the platform and shuffled his feet. "I don't know." he said in a near whisper. _

"_You don't know?"_

"_I.. I think I'm really badly hurt, Lea. I think it may take a long time for me to get better." He looked up at him, eyes wide with fright and worry. "Are you mad at me?"_

_Lea shook his head and smiled. "No, I'm not mad." He reached up and ran his fingers through Isa's hair. "You can stay as long as you need, and when you're ready to wake up, I'll be there waiting for you."_

"_You will? You promise?"_

"_I promise. I'll be right there beside you when you wake up."_

_Isa gave him a bright, beautiful smile, and Lea felt tears in his eyes again when the child snuggled close for another hug. "You are so precious to me." he whispered. "I'm so glad that I heard you calling to me."_

_He heard Even and Mickey calling him to wake up then, and he frowned in annoyance. Couldn't they tell that he was busy?_

"_Lea" Isa asked hesitantly. "What's wrong?"_

_Lea held him tight. "Nothing's wrong, Isa, but I had to put myself in a deep sleep to come talk to you, and now my friends are calling for me to wake up, so I probably need to leave now."_

"_Friends?" Isa said weakly, and it was impossible to miss the fear in his voice._

"_Yes, I have friends, but don't worry." He smiled and kissed Isa's forehead. "You're still my best friend. No one could ever have a hope of replacing you."_

_Isa's bright green eyes – Green! Not yellow! - shone with joy. "Will you come back to see me?"_

"_Every day."_

"_And you'll be there when I wake up?" _

"_I will."_

_Lea felt himself drifting away then as he began to wake up. "I've got to go, Isa, but I'll be back." _

_Isa let go of him and stepped back. "See you soon!" He waved, and Lea waved back as the platform shrank and disappeared from sight. _

Lea's eyes opened with a gasp. Isa was lying beside him, wound in his arms, and Even, Mickey, and Isa's parents were standing around the bed, looking at him anxiously.

"Did you see him?" Even asked, and Lea nodded."How did he look?"

Lea smiled. "He looked like he did when we were about ten."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Of course, I did. He said he thinks that he's really badly hurt and that it might take a long time for him to wake up."

"How long?" Isa's mother asked desperately. "Does he know how long?"

"It would be difficult for him to say exactly." Mickey explained as Even helped Lea sit up. "Time has no meaning during a dive. To us Lea was asleep for several hours, to him it likely seemed like only minutes."

"Several hours is right." Lea grumbled. "I need some food, and where's your bathroom?"

Quiet laughter rang out behind him as he wobbled out of the room towards the bathroom, and once that was taken care of, he returned to Isa's bedside, took a deep breath, and looked at Isa's parents. "May I have him back?"

**OOOOOO**

Lea hummed quietly to himself as he bustled around the house, tidying up. After making him swear to never neglect him in any way again, and that included keeping the house clean, Isa's parents had agreed to return custody of Isa to him. The day after their discovery that his heart was safely supported by Lea's, Even had replaced Isa's feeding tube, and within a few days, the effects on the dehydration had been completely reversed. Lea, with help from Sora, Riku, and Kairi had cleaned the house until it shone, and then Aeleus had brought Isa home and carefully placed him Lea's waiting arms. Even resumed his daily visits to check on Isa's health, and regular visits from his friends ensured that Lea wasn't left alone in the house to brood.

He appreciated everyone's help, but it was his daily chats with Isa that helped him the most. Seeing Isa standing on the platform, eyes alight with love, allowed him to keep the thought that Isa would eventually wake foremost in his thoughts. Over time, as the weeks rolled by, he noticed that Isa was aging. The form that his heart took slowly grew from a boy of ten, to a preteen, and then to a young teenager. After another two years had passed, he was a young adult, and Isa stated that he thought that he would wake up soon.

Despite how old he appeared, Isa's behavior and mannerisms remained those of a child, and every day, he greeted Lea with a wide smile and a hug, and at the end of each visit, he made Lea promise that he would return.

Finally, four and a half years after Xehanort's defeat, during a visit, Isa looked at Lea with a serious expression.

"_I'm healed now, Lea." he said quietly. "I think I can wake up now."_

"_Will you be able to leave my heart without hurting yourself?"_

"_I think so. Will you.. help me?"_

"_Of course, I will. Are your ready?"_

_Isa nodded, and Lea pulled him into his arms for a moment, and then he gently lifted him up. Isa began to rise, and Lea went up with him, boosting him up as the platform of Lea's heart shrank out of sight below them. The light shone down from above, and Isa flashed him one last bright smile before it became too bright to see each other. _

Lea opened his eyes to see Isa lying still next to him.

"Isa?" he called quietly, but there was no response. Isa did not move. "Isa?" He reached out and gently shook him. "Isa, c'mon, it's time to wake up." There was still no response, so Lea sat up and shook him again. "Isa!"

What was wrong? Had he tried to leave Lea's heart too soon? Had he collapsed without any support? Why wasn't he waking up!

"Isa!"

There was nothing, and Lea placed his hand over his heart, hoping to feel Isa's still within, but there was no other heart there aside from his own.

"Isa! Wake up!"

There was a deep intake of breath, and Lea held his own breath as Isa shifted in bed.

"Stop shouting, Axel," he mumbled. "You're giving me a headache."

Not even being called by his Nobody name could prevent Lea from sobbing in relief as he snatched Isa up and held him close. Isa grumbled, but he did not protest being held. "What happened to me?" he groaned. "I feel like I've been sleeping forever."

"You don't remember what happened?" Lea asked as he rocked Isa and ran his hand down his hair.

"If I remember, would I be asking?"

"Oh my, it seems that the day has arrived."

Lea looked up as Even walked into the room, and he couldn't help but miss the look of confusion on Isa's face.

"IV?" he asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?" He looked around. "Why are we back here? What is happening?"

Lea felt his heart sink as the implications of Isa's words hit him. "What's the last thing you remember, Isa?"

"Why are you calling me by that name? For that matter, why are you holding me like some child? Let go of me, Axel." He tried to pull away, but he was too weak to do so after lying comatose for so long.

"Not until you answer my question. What's the last thing you remember?"

"What does it matter? Now let go of me."

Lea tightened his grip, even as he felt his heart beginning to break. "Answer my question. What is the last thing you remember?"

"I asked you if you would rather suffer the loss of a make believe friendship, or a real one. Let go of me, Axel."

"A six year gap then." Even said as he scribbled on a notepad. "I suppose it's to be expected after what happened."

"Don't you have missions to do, IV?"

"I do. I have to check on you, and then I will leave Lea to explain things to you."

"I am fine, IV, so go on your way."

"You have been comatose for over four years, _Isa_, so you are most certainly not fine. Now stop complaining and let me look at you."

Isa growled, and his eyes flashed yellow for a second, but Lea wasn't too worried about going berserk; he knew that he didn't have the strength. Instead Isa allowed Even to check him over and discuss getting him into physical therapy with Lea without a word. Once Even had gone however, he looked at Lea with Saïx's signature glare. "Explain."

So Lea did explain. He told him about the possession, the battle against Xehanort, the destruction of Xehanort's vessels, and how they had torn him free of Isa's heart, inflicting horrendous damage in the process. He then told of how Isa's damaged heart had sought out Lea's as a means of support and how others had believed that Isa's heart was completely gone. He told of caring for him, of losing custody of him, of finding Isa's heart within his own, of regaining custody, of their daily talks, and how Isa had said that he was ready to wake.

"And here you are." Lea said quietly. "Finally awake."

Isa didn't answer for a long moment, and when he spoke, he did it without looking at Lea. "I am hungry. I need to eat."

Lea tried not to cry at the cold tone. "It's time for your feeding anyway." He laid Isa down and went to retrieve a bag of Isa's tube formula. Isa was silent as the bag was hooked up to the tube, and he said not a word during the feeding. He simply went back to sleep, while Lea finally let the tears slide down his face.

**OOOOOO**

It was the soft sound of someone crying that woke him during the night. He sat up in the room that was dimly lit by a nightlight that was kept on by Isa's bed to see Isa lying in bed, crying in his sleep.

He got out of his own bed and walked over to Isa's. "Isa?" He gently shook him. "Wake up, Isa, wake up."

Isa's eyes opened. "Lea?" he asked through his tears, and Lea smiled to hear his real name.

"Yes, it's me. Are you okay?"

Isa closed his eyes and shook his head. "No," he whispered in a quiet voice.

Lea scooted him over, laid down beside him, and put his arms around him. "Do you remember now?"

"I remember everything. I tried to stop him. I knew what he was doing to me. I tried to warn you, but he wouldn't let me."

"He's gone now. He's been destroyed, and you don't have to worry about him ever again."

Isa looked up at him, with tears in his green eyes. "Really?"

Lea gave him a gentle smile. "Really."

Isa closed his eyes again and nestled close. Lea smiled again. "I love you." he whispered.

Isa let out a watery laugh. "I love you too, Lea.

"Go back to sleep now. I'm here, and you're safe. In the morning, I'll take you out and about. Your parents will be thrilled to see you awake, I'm sure."

"I'm not worried about that. I just want to stay here with you for a while. I'm safe as long as I'm with you, right?"

"Always." Lea reached down and pulled the blankets over them. "Goodnight, Isa."

"Goodnight, Lea. I love you."

Lea felt the warmth blossom in his heart as Isa fell asleep in his arms. "I love you too, Isa." he whispered, and then he closed his eyes and went to sleep, with Isa safe beside him.


End file.
